Metropolitan Nicolae of the two Americas installed Protosyncellus Ieremia Berbec as the abbot of the Middletown Monastery, in the state of New York. The ceremony was held on October 24, when the patronal feast of the monastery was celebrated. The celebration was held in advance of the saint’s feast (October 27) to allow participation of…
The tragedy at Colectiv nightclub directly affected several hundred families but caused injuries – many still open – at the level of the entire Romanian society. The Church was not left untouched by the accusations either, some partially real and assumed, others totally unfounded that hover in the public space even 5 years after the…
The Patriarch of Romania said that the Parable of the unmerciful rich man and Lazarus is the most significant of the gospel readings and was proclaimed last Sunday to help us prepare for the Nativity Fast. “The unmerciful rich man loses his salvation.” This is the conclusion of the parable with many spiritual meanings. “In…
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Romania visited Putna Monastery on Friday and was impressed by the monastic settlement, the history of Bukovina, Saints Stephen the Great and Jacob of Putna. On his first visit to Bukovina, Ambassador Nurbakh Rustemov was accompanied by his wife and one of their daughters. The Ambassador especially appreciated the unique…
Fr Aurel Mihai, vicar at the Archdiocese of Bucharest, led a memorial service on Friday morning for the 65 victims of the deadly fire that broke out during a concert at the Colectiv Club in Bucharest in 2015. The service that was performed at Bucur Square next to the building that once housed the Colectiv…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel sent a message of solidarity with the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek people, following the strong earthquake that shook the island of Samos on Friday, Oct. 30. The message is addressed to Archbishop Hieronymos II of Athens and all of Greece: His Beatitude Hieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel expressed his grief over the losses suffered by Greece and Turkey after a powerful earthquake shook the neighbouring countries on Friday. His Beatitude sent a message of solidarity to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: His Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch Your Holiness, We learned with deep sorrow about the…
A bust of the first Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Miron Cristea, was unveiled on an Alley dedicated to the Founders of the 1918 Great Union in Ploiești’s Bucov Park during a ceremony on Saturday, October 24, Q Magazine reports. The bronze bust was made by the sculptor George Dumitru, with the support of…
The philanthropic work carried out by the Orthodox Metropolis of Bessarabia during the coronavirus pandemic was praised by the Embassy of the United States of America (USA) in Chisinau. Congratulations were conveyed by Robert Keane, Human Rights Officer at the US Embassy to the Republic of Moldova, during a virtual meeting with the Metropolitan’s representative,…
Patriarch Daniel Tuesday warmly thanked the ‘beloved pilgrims’ for coming to the feast of Saint Demetrios the New and attending the divine services at the Patriarchal Cathedral with patience and ‘exemplary order’. ‘In the warmest way, we thank you, beloved pilgrims, who participated in the all-night vigil services, in the Divine Liturgies. Thank you for…
A tourist-cultural route of wooden churches in Romania was officially launched on Tuesday, October 27, at an event dedicated to the protection and cultural valorization of the historical monument of the wooden church in Valea Crișului, Bihor County. The event was attended by representatives of the local public administrations registered in the cultural route and…
During his sermon on Tuesday, Patriarch Daniel referred to two aspects of God’s presence and work in the world through Saint Demetrios the New: on the one hand, the delicacy and the miraculous help offered to the believers, on the other hand, the ‘bitter medicine’ administered to people for correction. The Patriarch of Romania highlighted…
The Basilica Media Center of the Romanian Patriarchate celebrates its 13th anniversary on October 27, on the feast of St Demetrius the New. This celebration always finds Church journalists at work. During the religious service, from the Patriarchate Hill, or from behind the computer screens, they report their whispered, yet firm “breaking news”. Although this…
At the all-night vigil service held in honour of St. Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher, a great martyr of the 4th century, the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploieşti spoke about the current persecutions against Christians and stressed that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. “Usually when we talk about persecution we refer to…
Marking the beginning of a three-day celebration in honour of Bucharest’s Patron Saint, four priests led by a bishop carried the relics of Saint Demetrios the New outside the patriarchal cathedral during a small procession on Sunday morning. The reliquary was placed in a baldachin next to the cathedral where pilgrims from Bucharest are expected…
On October 20, 2015, the Basilica News Agency joined Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A bit late, indeed. But we made up for it. We have tens of reasons to invite you to join the Basilica.ro community. We’ve chosen only five reasons, hoping to be sufficient. If you’re not convinced, please write to us, wherever you…
The authorities of Ordu province, in northern Turkey, announced on Monday that experts from the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology found the ruins of a church on the bottom of Lake Gaga, submerged 15 meters below the surface. The age of these vestiges is yet to be determined. The 15-acre lake is the most important…
An interactive digital exhibition with codices, illuminated manuscripts and objects from the heritage of the Holy Mount Athos is open for the public at the Concert Hall in Athens. The event presents the digitalization work made by the Athonite monks. The visitors can also see a day from a monk’s life – a very welcome…
In his homily on the feast of St Parascheva of Iaşi, Metropolitan Teofan offered some answers to the challenges of the present times. To stop the community spread of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus, Romanian authorities imposed harsh restrictions for this year’s celebrations: pilgrims from outside the city of Iași were denied access to the cathedral where…
During his Sunday homily, the Archbishop of Suceava and Radauti referred to human trafficking, calling it ‘an outrageous sin that cries to heaven,’ adding that it leads to spiritual death. ‘Spiritual death comes too often from the handcuffing in which other people throw away the weak. They steal their identity, present and future. They rob…